Since the discredited founder of the cryptocurrency website FTX was arrested on Monday, celebrities who once promoted the company have been conspicuously silent.
Tom Brady and his now-ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, Shaquille O’Neal, and even Larry David have all endorsed Sam Bankman-cryptocurrency Fried’s exchange.
But they have not issued any statements since the 30-year-old former millionaire was arrested in the Bahamas, where he had been hiding since his $32 billion business collapsed last month, and he is now facing criminal charges in the United States.
Almost exactly one month to the day after his company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, American prosecutors have filed unspecified charges against the founder of FTX and are ‘expected to request his extradition.’
Former disgraced FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been detained in the Bahamas.
Last year, Tom Brady and his now-ex-wife Gisele Bündchen starred in an FTX advertisement. They are listed in a class-action complaint alleging that the firm’s demise cost consumers $11 billion.
Brady was captured on camera at home recruiting his pals for FTX. The corporation promoted its advertising campaign with the slogan “Tom Brady is in.” Are you?’
Before FTX’s shocking collapse last month, basketball stars Shaquille O’Neal, left, and Steph Curry, right, also endorsed the company in advertisements. Even after Bankman-arrest, Fried’s none of these famous individuals have commented on the situation.
In a statement, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis stated, ‘The Bahamas and the United States have an interest in holding accountable all people affiliated with FTX who may have violated the law and damaged the public’s confidence.
The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the ongoing cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory colleagues in the United States and internationally.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, also issued a statement regarding Bankman-arrest Fried’s just before 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
“Earlier this evening, at the request of the United States government, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried based on a secret indictment filed by the SDNY,” Williams said.
The attorney said, “We anticipate moving to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
The CEO of FTX was scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee regarding the $32 billion collapse of the company just hours before his arrest.
The disgraced CEO was set to appear remotely owing to his ‘overbooked’ schedule, DailyMail.com claimed before Bahamian authorities announced his detention.
Members of the House Financial Services Committee planned to discuss the collapse of the digital currency with him.
While he confirmed last week that he would indeed speak with members of Congress, he recently expressed anxiety about the paparazzi in Washington, D.C. in a Twitter post.
It is currently unknown if and when the testimony will occur.
Monday night, US Attorney Damian Williams said that the indictment will be unsealed on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning, Bankman-Fried was due to address Congress on the multi-billion dollar collapse of FTX.
It is currently unknown if and when the testimony will occur.
This is the statement made late Monday evening by the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York on the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried.
Bloomberg News reported on Friday that Justice Department authorities were investigating the alleged transfer of millions of dollars around the time FTX declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The news source said that prosecutors convened to explore a potential fraud case against the company’s former CEO and many other high-ranking executives.
During the meeting, Assistant US Attorney Nicolas Roos, Justice Department officials from Washington, D.C., FBI agents, and FTX attorneys from Sullivan & Cromwel were also present.
According to Bloomberg, the committee met for “nearly two hours” to analyze FTX’s collapse but did not discuss potential charges.
Monday evening, The New York Times confirmed the concerns regarding payments made using U.S. customer funds to Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund also owned by Bankman-Fried. The specific fees remain unknown.
At this moment, the actual allegations levied against the deposed “Crypto King” are unknown.
Bankman-Fried, who had indicated he would address Congress from his home in the Bahamas, has previously denied he was avoiding entering the United States by virtually appearing in front of senators.
It’s also a crucial time for me to be present here. I am extremely overbooked and was not planning to testify until very recently,’ he told Unusual Whales platform interviewers lately.
‘Also, the second thing I will mention is… from a security aspect… It is currently very tough for me to move and travel because the paparazzi influence is so strong.
Bankman-Fried was also questioned if he worried being detained, to which he responded, “I don’t think so, but I haven’t done a thorough investigation into that.”
FTX CEO John J. Ray III, the company’s insolvency expert and attorney, was also scheduled to speak on Tuesday.
Recent DailyMail.com images depict disgraced FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried appearing anxious on the balcony of his $40 million penthouse in the Bahamas.
The 7,500 square foot penthouse he was living in at the Albany club has five bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms.
The photographs shot at the end of November marked the first public appearance of the disgraced crypto official since the collapse of his multibillion-dollar company.
Bankman-Fried had also claimed that he would be “open and willing” to possibly testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, but this proved to be a red herring.
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) recently stated in a joint statement that they have offered Sam Bankman-Fried two possible dates for testifying before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and are willing to accommodate virtual testimony.
Regarding a hearing on Wednesday, senators stated, “He has renounced his responsibility in an unprecedented manner.”
Bankman-Fried stated in a tweet that he was considering speaking with banking officials on Wednesday, but that his testimony ‘won’t be as beneficial’ as he and others may think.
The attorneys for the deposed “Crypto King” had previously stated that they would not accept serving of a subpoena compelling him to testify in Washington, D.C.
We will continue to try to have Bankman-Fried come before the Committee notwithstanding his legal team’s refusal to accept serving of a subpoena. He owes an explanation to the American people,’ stated Senators Brown and Toomey.
Maxine Waters (D-CA), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, was also among the lawmakers urging the ‘Crypto King’ to attend the congressional session.
Last week, Waters stated that Bankman-Fried had “adequate” information to testify.
The former CEO has been accused of manipulating the markets for multiple cryptocurrencies, resulting in their demise.
Bankman-Fried, on the other hand, has maintained that he has nothing to say to lawmakers: “There is no evidence since it never occurred.”
The legal counsel for Bankman-Field had previously declared that they would not accept serving of a subpoena compelling him to testify in Washington, D.C.
Investors and FTX clients have filed a legal complaint against Bankman-Fried.
Bankman-Fried retained Mark S. Cohen, a prominent white collar defense attorney, to represent him in his legal matters.
The class action lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida by class action attorney Adam Moskowitz, asserts that the ex-billionaire and the celebrities he recruited to endorse the company are responsible for approximately $11 billion in losses to American consumers.
In the document, the following names appear: ‘Sam Bankman-Fried, Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, Shaquille O’Neal, Udonis Haslem, David Ortiz, William Trevor Lawrence, Shohei Ohtani, Naomi Osaka, Lawrence Gene David, and Kevin O’Leary.’
In the 41-page lawsuit, they are defined as “those who either directed, promoted, helped in, or actively participated” in FTX’s operations, which allegedly violated Florida law.
It adds: “The Deceitful and Failed FTX Platform was founded on misleading statements and deceptive behavior.”
Although many damaging FTX emails and messages have already been destroyed, we were able to identify them, and they demonstrate how FTX’s fraudulent scheme was structured to take advantage of naive consumers using mobile apps to make investments across the country.
As a result, American consumers collectively experienced damages in excess of $11 billion.
As his father, a law professor at Stanford University, postponed his future classes, Bankman-Fried has recently retained prominent white collar defense attorney Mark S. Cohen to assist him in these legal problems.
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